Ensuring Successful Transition

Worlingworth C of E VCP School

Impact

Recruitment at the school has improved, and the number on roll has now increased. Ofsted February 2016 states: ‘From their different starting points, pupils make substantial progress, many overcoming issues in their learning. The partnership arrangement with the local high school works outstandingly well and has had a very positive impact on the school’s development.’

Need identified

As a small primary with a falling roll and in danger of closure, the school entered a partnership arrangement with the local high school, to support staffing and leadership, and ensure successful and happy transition.

Initiative

The partnership and collaboration has been developed in the following ways to support children in their local schools:

Transition between EYFS and Key Stage One is supported by ensuring that the younger children are taught with the older ones in the afternoon. Also, there are areas in the Key Stage One classroom that are conducive to early years teaching and learning methods. In addition, EYFS children are introduced to the routines and expectations of the older learners;

Staff teach phonics highly effectively to pupils in Key Stage 1 and the early years, with peers supporting each other to learn to read;

Children that enter the school mid-term are carefully assessed and gaps in previous learning are tackled to promote fast rates of progress. There is a planned intervention for those who need it to catch up;

Staffing is collaborative and key skills are covered by staff that teach in both schools. A teacher from the high school, for example, teaches key skills in sports such as hockey, and the SENCo works across both schools, which supports effective transition. The school benefits greatly by sharing expertise in areas such as safeguarding and special educational needs;

Pupils have easy and regular access to the high school and this has made transition from primary to secondary much smoother, especially for pupils with particular learning needs.

Worth Mentioning

Ofsted February 2016 states: ‘Pupils who join the school from other schools settle in seamlessly. It is not possible to tell these pupils apart from those who have been at the school from the beginning. Children in the early years are exceptionally well prepared for Year 1; older pupils are just as well prepared for high school.’

Submitted by

Victoria Gascoyne-Cecil at Worlingworth C of E VCP School

Would be willing to be contacted to discuss further by other Headteachers Contact via Email

Would welcome visitors to the school to see the initiative in action or the outcomes Contact via Email